Sebastiaan Bornauw (born 22 March 1999) is a Belgian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for club

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

and the Belgium national team.

Club career

Anderlecht

Bornauw made his professional debut for

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

in a 4–1

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

win over

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

on 28 July 2018, at the age of 19. He played the full game. Bornauw would go on to become a key defender for Anderlecht, despite his young age. In total, he played in 24 league games and he scored one goal as a defender for Anderlecht in his debut season.

1. FC Köln

On 6 August 2019, Bornauw joined

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

on a five-year deal. He scored his first

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

goal on 20 October 2019 against

SC Paderborn Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V., commonly known as simply SC Paderborn 07 () or SC Paderborn, is a German association football club based in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has enjoyed its greatest success since the turn of the millenni ...

. In his first season at 1. FC Köln, Bornauw established himself as a regular starter and became a key player for the club.

VfL Wolfsburg

On 16 July 2021, Köln announced that the club had transferred Bornauw to

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

, where he signed a contract until 2026. He scored his first goal for Wolfsburg on 26 February 2022 in a 2–2 draw against

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

Leeds United

On 1 July 2025, Bornauw signed for

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

on a four-year deal, for a fee of £5,100,000.

International career

Bornauw debuted with the

Belgium national football team The Belgium national football team has represented Belgium in men's international Association football, football since Évence Coppée Trophy, their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in E ...

in a 1–1 friendly draw with

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

on 8 October 2020.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bornauw, Sebastiaan Living people 1999 births Belgian men's footballers Belgium men's international footballers Belgium men's under-21 international footballers Belgium men's youth international footballers Men's association football central defenders R.S.C. Anderlecht players 1. FC Köln players VfL Wolfsburg players Leeds United F.C. players Belgian Pro League players Bundesliga players Belgian expatriate men's footballers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England 21st-century Belgian sportsmen